1-Bowl Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes

Friends, behold perhaps my favorite pancakes of all time.

I mean, that’s a big statement, but it’s true. And can I also say that it was a long road to get here? What started as “blender oat pancakes” gone wrong morphed into this supreme stack of golden goodness – the victory was well earned. Let’s make pancakes!

These 1-bowl, 25-minute pancakes require 9 simple ingredients you likely have on hand right now. Mash a banana, add the wet ingredients, stir in the dry ingredients, and bam: You’ve got a bangin’ pancake batter on your hands.

We prefer cooking the pancakes on a seasoned cast-iron pan very lightly coated with oil (see cast-iron tips in our Instagram Story Highlights!). Brown on both sides and then keep warm in the oven until serving.

If you want to be extra (like me), you can sprinkle some chocolate chips and/or blueberries or huckleberries into the batter for next-level pancakes!

These make the perfect special weekday breakfast or lazy weekend treat. I like making a batch, enjoying a few right away, and then freezing the rest to enjoy throughout the week! Although optional, we highly recommend adding a little fruit or vegan dark chocolate chips to the batter – they complement the banana flavor perfectly! Top with peanut butter and maple syrup for the ultimate breakfast.

Instructions

To a mixing bowl, add banana and mash. Then add oil, maple syrup, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Then add non-dairy milk (start with the lesser amount and work your way up as needed) and whisk to combine. If using coconut oil and it hardens or clumps, it's not a big deal. You can microwave (for 45 seconds - 1 minute) to remelt - otherwise, proceed.

Add oat flour, gluten-free flour, and almond flour. Gently stir (being careful not to over-mix) to combine. It should be thick but pourable/scoopable. If too thin, add more gluten-free or almond flour. If too thick, thin with a little non-dairy milk. If adding fruit or chocolate chips, add now and gently fold to combine.

Heat a large nonstick skillet, griddle, or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Carefully rub skillet with a little oil. (You will likely need to decrease the heat of the skillet to medium-low / low once it's hot as to not burn the pancakes.)

Once hot, spoon 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the batter onto skillet. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and the edges appear dry (~2-3 minutes). Carefully flip pancakes and cook until browned on the underside (~3 minutes more). The gluten-free flour blend benefits from a slightly longer cooking time, so don’t be shy to get a nice golden brown color on both sides.

Transfer cooked pancakes to a baking sheet or plate (don’t stack pancakes on top of one another) and keep warm in a 200-degree F (94 C) oven. Continue cooking until all batter is used up - about 12 pancakes (as original recipe is written).

These pancakes are delicious on their own, but they're amplified with toppings such as additional fruit or chocolate chips, peanut butter, and maple syrup.

Store cooled leftover pancakes (without toppings) in a container separated with wax or parchment paper to prevent sticking. Will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days or in the freezer* up to 1 month. Reheat in the toaster oven, microwave, or oven until hot.

Notes

*To freeze pancakes, add cooled pancakes to a Tupperware or plastic bag with parchment or wax paper in between to prevent sticking. Reheat in a toaster oven, oven, or microwave until hot and fluffy. I prefer to heat in the toaster and then microwave for 15-20 seconds to make fluffier and softer.*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with almond milk and without optional ingredients.

This is my go-to vegan pancake recipe these days. I make them bigger: 4-5 inches wide (so more like .5 cups of batter each) on a non-stick electric griddle and they come perfect EVERY TIME. Huge crowd-pleaser.

Just a quick question, can I make the batter a day in advance and store it in the fridge overnight? I want to make a double batch the day before my friends come over for brunch! Just to save me a job on the morning they’re coming over! But I want to cook them fresh when they’re here.

Hi Rachel, if you leave it covered in the refrigerator, that should work! If when cooking the pancakes the batter seems too thick, you can try thinning it with additional dairy-free milk. Hope that helps!

Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kirsten. We are so glad you enjoyed these! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

We love this recipe! I do have a question though though..we are going camping and I am curious if I could prepare the batter ahead of time and cook them once we are at our campsite. Would the batter hold do you think?

We tried it and it was a big win! I made the batter one day in advance and I didn’t need to make any additions once we were cooking them. Such a treat to have warm pancakes on a cold morning while camping!

These pancakes are AMAZING!!! My boyfriend and I made a double batch and froze half so we can always have them on hand! So so delicious!! Thank you so much for a great recipe! It’s my first recipe that I’ve tried from your site, and it won’t be the last!! 😁 Two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Fine holiday fun!

I wish I could attach a photo of the results. Picture a plateful of rubbery dough and a skillet caked with crusty brown pancake remains. This is the third time I’ve tried this recipe and each time has been a disaster. Other MB recipes I’ve tried have been successful, but this one has garnered much frustration. I’ve tried different variations of flour to see if that was the culprit, nope. I didn’t over-stir. I’m at a loss and can’t afford to keep wasting my ingredients. I won’t allow for my compost to be a graveyard for this poor batter again.

Julia – this is so strange! I’m sorry for the trouble. I have made this recipe so many times and have always had good results. I’m wondering if you used a gluten-free blend that had too much tapioca? That can sometimes make things a bit rubbery / stringy. Otherwise, did you change anything else about it?

I made these once for the first time and they came out better good. However I just made them again, but added some vanilla, and they came out really smushy :( Do you think the vanilla could have done that? Or because the batter was too thick I added, gently, some more milk.

Yum! I tripled the recipe to feed my pack and also have a few left over to freeze. I used my kitchen scale and the metric function. I love baking this way and love that your recipes have this feature! If you don’t bake this way, I highly recommend it to anyone reading this.

I made the following edits to the recipe:
1. cut oil and syrup in half and added additional unsweetened almond milk/banana to make up the moisture difference – they were plenty sweet and moist with less sweetener and oil
2. subbed out half the white flour for whole wheat flour
3. added some flax seed and cinnamon
4. I added 5 chocolate chips to the each pancake while cooking for the kids. I added a few raspberries to the ones I ate. I topped mine with some date syrup (dates and lemon blended). Family had syrup and/or whipped cream (!)

I love these! After being gluten free for years (due to Celiac), I am just now getting into vegan eating/cooking. It’s great to find a delicious pancake recipe that is both! I am trying to get more protein and lower carbs into my recipes, so I’ve been using chickpea flour in place of some gf flours. I tried replacing the oat flour with chickpea flour, and both the texture and taste were wonderful! I reduced the maple syrup to one tablespoon and added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. I used Bob’s Red Mill “1 to 1” gf free flour instead of the diy. My hope is to eventually have a recipe that has no “white” flour or added sugar (not even maple syrup) at all, so I’ll continue to experiment with nut, bean and quinoa flours in this recipe and reducing the syrup. I used frozen wild blueberries (thawed), and loved it; I think next time I will use more than 1/4 cup. Thank you so much!

I made this today for me and my vegan son…delicious! Easy and tasty – it will be my new go-to recipe for pancakes for everyone, not just vegans! Thanks for putting all the work into developing and testing this recipe, we love it!

I have made these pancakes twice. Once following the recipe and once making some modifications based on what I had at home. I think maybe people would like to use protein powder, so here is what I did. Instead of oat and gluten free AP flour, I used 1 cup sprouted spelt flour and 1/2 cup vegan protein powder. To offset the protein taste, I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

We used all-purpose flour with the oat flour, and these were delicious. I found these pancakes are better if allowed to rest a minute or so before eating–the flavor and texture benefit if they cool a bit. These are flavorful and not too sweet, and they’re more substantial than a regular pancake. I feel like I’ve had a nutritious meal, rather than dessert for breakfast. Thanks for this yummy recipe.

I made these pancakes this morning and enjoyed them with warm blueberries on top. They were very delicious. I made a couple minor changes to the receipe — I used AP flour instead of gluten feee and used 1Tbspnof oil olive oil (left off 1/2 Tbsp). Highly recommend for a yummy breakfast!!

Amazing! So moist and fluffy at the same time. I made two at a time over a few days and left the batter in the fridge, where it was fine. The last two I cooked up and (after cooling) wrapped in plastic wrap and froze. I left them out last night to defrost and baked them at 350 for 5 minutes this morning and they were great, nothing changed. Thank you for another amazing recipe!

I just made these for dinner. I wondered if they would live up to the hype you created, but they did – they are very good! Really, really yummy. You can really taste the banana, which I liked. They took a bit longer to cook than other recipes I’ve tried because they are nice and fluffy. I used avocado oil, coconut milk and Robin Hood Gluten-Free flour. Highly recommend!

Thanks so much for the lovely review, Meagan. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

I used Oatly Oat milk as a direct substitute, and didn’t have any issues. I’m surprised they didn’t stay together, as I’ve found oat milk to be a bit thicker than almond milk. Maybe try again…sorry I don’t have any suggestions.

These were amazing and will now be my “go-to” pancake recipe! Thank you thank you!

I doubled the recipe for my family of 5 and made the following modifications:
1. Halved the oil and syrup and subbed applesauce (pancakes were still deliciously sweet and moist)
2. Instead of GF flour, subbed 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour
3. Added mini-semi sweet chocolate chips (vegan)

I’m not sure why, but these turned out horribly for me! :( I feel like it has to be my fault…maybe cause I used cashew milk and the banana combined with the milk made it too creamy? It was really stiff and gooey and I kept adding more liquid, eventually putting water in it, but nothing helped. I’m so bummed. I pretty much just ate the batter raw.

Dana, another winner! This is such a great recipe. We’ve tried so many of your pancake recipes on the site and I think we found our easiest and most favorite. I made these this morning with my three little daughters and as we were all eating them everyone was saying Yum Yum Yum. Even my pickiest eater had two pancakes which is a lot for her. So simple to make and we had all the ingredients on hand and they turned out beautifully in our cast iron skillet. Thank you so much for another great recipe.

I did had to replace the gluten free flour and the almond flour with all-purpose— but I did make the oat flour to mix in. Everything i followed exactly and the pancakes turned out great. My family loved them. Impressed at how fluffy and full of flavor they are! I’ve tried a lot of recipes, but as usual, minimalist baker comes out on top. Thank you SO much for sharing all of your incredible recipes with us. This is my favorite website for every meal!

These were perfect with regular flour instead of the gluten free blend. Otherwise I made them exactly as written. We don’t have gluten allergies in my house but I’m vegan. I added frozen blueberries to them as they cooked. But also tried them without. Loved both ways! Served them with maple syrup and seitan breakfast sausages. Yum. Thanks 😊

Can you recommend a store bought alternative to the gluten-free flour blend in your 1 bowl vegan banana oat pancakes? I’m not gluten free so that’s not a concern, I just can’t buy all those different flours for your DIY blend

Others have tried Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour blend, but we have not and can’t say whether it will work for sure. We primarily use our homemade gluten-free flour blend but if you experiment with a store bought one, report back on how it goes! Good luck.

Dahlin’, I need some chemistry update here. As all others on whom Austro-Hungarian Empire made a significant impact when it comes to making crapes (palachinke: small cookies served at the palace), I am a master who cooks them with real eggs, however, when it comes to a vegan version of pancakes, they simply wouldn’t cook inside. I follow your recipes to the minute details, but they are always uncooked. What am I doing wrong? (they taste like heaven — I cook them for almost 20 minutes, but they are still undone). Thank you.

very good! I made these using homemade oat milk for the almond milk. I made some with blueberries, some with chocolate chips and some plain. All were good with vegan butter and maple syrup. I will make the again.

I am currently making these using a modified flour recipe and am not having the best results. I made the oat flour in my vitamix (super easy!) but replaced the almond flour and GF flour with coconut flour… not a good idea. The flavor of the batter is insanely good but the coconut flour has been soaking up the liquid like a sponge and we are having to add more and more and more almond milk. It’s also taking forever for the pancakes to cook. I am looking forward to trying these again once I make the MB’s GF flour blend (I have Bob’s but always seem to find his chemical-tasting) – absolutely love your stuff!

These were delicious. I added a bit of vanilla and I used Bob’s Red Mill, 1 to 1 gluten-free baking flour instead of the DIY flour. They were fabulous. So fun eating pancakes again! Eating vegan and healthy is the way to go. I feel so much better. Thank you for all your recipes.

I am a huge pancake lover and decided this Tuesday morning was the perfect time to try this :) I followed the recipe using Arrowhead Mills Organic Oat Flour, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Almond Flour (Costco Kirkland Brand!) and I used 1 cup of homemade coconut milk that I make from scratch using a whole coconut I buy from a local market. Could not have been happier with the results. These turned out so fantastic! My husband, who is not vegan, really loved them. Definitely my new go to vegan pancake recipe, yay! Thank you!

Amazing!!! I’ve had a fair share of pancakes and I have to say, this is one of the best recipes. I just used oat flour instead of a mixture. I’m also a lazy cook and this was super simple. Absolutely delicious.

Omg. SO. FREAKING. GOOD! I’m a terrible cook and have never managed American style pancakes in any way but these came out perfect. I don’t understand. Obviously I had to try 3 more times😂 I Will eventually (maybe) share some with my son. Maybe.

Just made these and mixed in frozen wild blueberries. Holy moly they were so delicious! I was craving pancakes but when you order them out it’s hard to find vegan options and they are always cooked with/smothered in butter.. no thank you. These are probably my favorite healthier pancakes I’ve ever made at home. Love your recipes so much!

Amazing and so easy!!! I really like the life-changing banana pancakes, too, but these were simpler to make. The substitutions I made successfully were using a scant 1/2 cup canned pumpkin instead of mashed banana. (I had part of a can left over from another recipe.) I did add 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice to go with that. I also subbed einkorn flour for the gluten-free and almond flours. I did add the full amount of liquid. They are SO good.

I have loved all the recipes I’ve tried from your site. Especially for baking. We make at least one of your recipes a week haha! We are not vegan, but my son is allergic to eggs, most nuts and intolerant to dairy, so you’ve been a huge help to us. When he was still sensitive to almost all the top 8 allergens, your black bean brownies saved his first birthday!!! Thanks!

My daughter has an oat allergy in addition to a gluten allergy. Is there a substitute for the oat flour? Could I use more of the GF or almond flour? If so, would the substitution be in equal amounts? Thanks!

Regarding making your own party flour: I have a Vitamix, but not the dry-goods blender. Does the regular blender work ok for oats? What about others dry goods? Thanks – Hope to make these this weekend!

These look delicious! Can I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour? or does that not work? I have it on hand so thought I might try using it instead of buying ingredients to make a batch of DIY gluten-free flour this time around. Thanks!!

These are so yummy! I was looking for a pancake recipe that wasn’t loaded with sugars and carbs, but also didn’t taste like cardboard. This recipe is so easy. It is now my new go to! I make a bunch of them, freeze them, and pop them in the toaster for a quick breakfast. So good.

These look delicious! I love the idea of adding almond flour to the batter is such a wonderful idea. It would add a great nuttiness to the whole spheel of the recipe. Your pancakes always look phenomenal. Ready to dig in, even though it’s nearly 8:30 P.M. now!

Hello! I am wondering about the almond flour, NOT almond meal note in your recipe. I have Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour. So on the surface it appears to be both, but I am guessing that maybe it is not as fine as the flour you are recommending? Thank you in advance!

I’ve been using a less complicated version every Saturday for over a year — 1 egg (which is know is not strictly vegan, but they are locally sourced pastured hen eggs), 1 oz of oats, 3 oz banana (usually one smallish), mashed and stirred together (usually add a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla to the batter). These may not be as light and fluffy as yours, but I like them. :-)

I used 3/4 cup quick oats (which I food-processed to a flour), 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour. The pancakes were excellent! My kids loved them and asked me to make them again.